In a Moment
by JustAThinker
Summary: Anything can happen in a moments time. Lives can be changed... or made to not exist. A moment in time, and Vernon does the wrong thing. Dudley is never born, James and Lily never die... what more can change in one moments time?
1. Names

The ages in the beginning are:

Lily and the Marauders: Nineteen

Petunia: Twenty-three

Vernon: Twenty-six

TW: Mild hints of abuse as well a bit of violence in this chapter. It's in the first bit, I apologize to anyone this may trigger!

And now onto the main event, the story!

**...**

After a joyful New Years' party at Marge's, Vernon and Petunia Dursley- married all of six months, had their first, last, and only big row.

Marge had been ecstatic when Petunia announced that she was four months pregnant, to the point of jumping up, hugging Petunia, and then bursting into tears. After Marge managed to calm down, she went to Vernon to discuss potential names. As the night progressed, Vernon got it into his head that his child would be named Dudley Vincent or Vanessa Dianne, no matter what. By the time the happy couple was driving home, Vernon's opinion was so firm that nothing- not even his wife, could shake it. Especially since Petunia was convinced on Heath Jasper or Juniper Holly.

When they relaxed into the living room couch, Vernon tried to persuade her, as he had the entire drive back. Once again, he got angrier and angrier, as the seeming insult to him got larger and larger. The names she chose were, in his mind, pansy names, and would destroy the Dursley name. Petunia was in tears, sitting on the couch, while Vernon loomed over her yelling that he was right, and she should listen to him above all else, who did she think she _was_?

Finally, the argument came to a head when, with one final snarl of "MY CHILDREN WILL NOT HAVE PANSY NAMES!", Vernon slapped her.

As he stormed back towards the front door, Vernon threatened divorce, yelling about pansies and shame and horrible wives. Petunia, stunned out of tears from being slapped and now enraged, furiously agreed to it.

Slamming the house door and then the car door behind him, Vernon sped off to the courthouse, set on getting the papers and leaving the infuriating woman- she was too thin anyways, and always crying... working himself up into a larger rage, Vernon nearly crashed the car several times until he parked.

His part was already signed when he got back home, and Petunia signed her part, glaring the entire time, before throwing the papers at him, "I'll be out of the house and your life in less than a week. My things will be packed, and we can just be strangers occupying the same house until I get the hell out of here."

But when signing, they forgot about the fact that Petunia was pregnant, and in doing that, Vernon lost any chance at being able to claim any child she had as his, as they hadn't even been to the hospital yet, and the only people told were close family. No one could prove that the child was his.

Once again, Vernon strode back to the car and slammed every door on the way there, while Petunia began packing her things. Once she finished putting her clothes into the suitcase and moving everything she brought to the house into boxes, Petunia began to move everything to the guest room. She'd be staying there until she figured out where to go.

**...**

The next morning, Petunia shakily dialed a number she hadn't in years- Lily's. It told her to leave a message, so Petunia did, asking if she could maybe stay with her for a while, explaining that she and Vernon were divorced and she had no where to go, and why it all had happened with mingled fury and tears. After leaving her message, Petunia hung up and collected herself, then went to fix herself a nice brunch and call the hospital she worked at, to tell them she was resigning as she was very suddenly moving.

A few hours later, Petunia was sitting on the couch, feeling glad that she hadn't told Vernon about magic. As she watched the boring soap in the empty room, Petunia was startled by a large barn owl tapping on the window.

'An owl?' Petunia wondered, 'Oh! It must be Lily responding... I've been a jealous snit, I'm surprised she's even responding. I wish my magic was high enough to practice magic...'

Thoughts idly wandering memory lane, Petunia swiftly stood up and opened the window, then went to the kitchen and got a bowl of water. Once the owl had drank its fill, it offered its leg to her, and she untied the letter there, gently telling the owl, "Don't leave yet- I'm going to reply back to her."

_Petunia,_

_I got your message, but my phone died as I went to call you back and answer you... Shitty thing that it is. I haven't gotten a new one in years! I should probably get on that... But anyways. It died, so I went to Diagon Alley (do you remember it?), and bought you this owl. He's a boy, obviously, and a barn owl. He'll eat small rodents during the summer, and household pests as it gets colder- in colder weather, supplement his diet, he needs it. He's really sweet, and he needs a name :) He also likes to nibble on greens!  
_

_About your request- I talked it over with James and we've agreed that you can live with us for as long as you need to.I'd love to rebuild our relationship, Tooney... losing you really hurt. I'll apparate over at noon tomorrow, we can catch up and I'll bring you and your things back with me!_

_-Your little sister,_

_Lily._

Once she finished reading the letter, Petunia looked at her new owl, relaxed.

"Come sit on my shoulder, I'll think of a name as I make myself a salad."

The nameless owl fluttered over and perched himself on her shoulder, and she walked into the kitchen. As Petunia made the salad, she added some extra and gave the owl bits and pieces.

"Rodi. That'll be your name. Sound good?"

The owl hooted and rubbed his head against Petunias before settling in for a nap, to rest some before she sent him with her response.

Petunia gentle sat down and started to pen her response.

_Lils,_

_I'm sorry about your phone! Mine does that all the time, the battery life is utter shit. Info about the owl- Noted. Also, I named him Rodi. He really is sweet! Thank you for agreeing to take me in... I know I've been a terrible sister. It just hurt so bad when Dumbledore said you had enough magic and I didn't- I wanted to come to Hogwarts with you, into your new amazing world... I wanted to learn what you were learning, and I knew if I was just "more" in a way, then I could. I want to rebuild that bridge, more than anything in the world... I can't wait to see you tomorrow!  
_

_-Tooney_

Petunia waited until Rodi woke up on his own, then gently tied the letter to his leg, "I expect you to get something to eat while you're out, ok Rodi?"

He hooted and flew off, and Petunia went to ready herself for bed.

**...**

At 12 the next day, Lily apparated to an alley near #4, and walked to the house. After hesitating for a few moments, she knocked on the door.

Petunia let her in immediately, and the two sisters stared at each other for a few moments, before falling into each others arms, crying. After the tears dried, they caught up on lost years, reviving old inside jokes and creating new ones.

"So," Lily started, once they'd gotten entirely caught up, "I think I have a fix for you being pregnant. There's a potion- quite a few. One of them can put the pregnancy into stasis- it's usually taken with another that changes the fater, and another can terminate it- it reverses the stages and then you get your period as normal, when you should. Want to take one of them?"

Petunia closed her eyes, nodding, "I... I want to take the latter. I loved this child, I did... but I would need to have a man on the side for that. I'll terminate this one, and try again another time. Lily... Am I a horrible person for this?"

Lily hugged Petunia, shaking her head, "No! You're doing what's best, no one will even know- it's ok. And I think I have a way for you to learn magic!"

Petunia smiled weakly, "Tell me, Lils?"

"Potions! And History! You can learn those and teach them- you have magic, just a little less than the normal wizard, so it's never manifested... I think you can learn to do spells in a few years. Your magic is just being slow to mature, while mine was very quick."

They grinned, and then Lily pulled Petunia up.

"Rodi's at Potter Manor- I'm taking you and your things there, yeah? The people who live there are me, James, Sirius, and Remus... Peter can't get in for some reason, we're trying to figure it out."

Petunia nodded, "I'd like to meet them... in the morning. At breakfast, hopefully?"

Lily nodded, and after a few minutes, there was no sign that Petunia had ever lived in the house.


	2. Magic

Woah! I have to say, a massive thank you to all my new subscribers is warranted- I didn't expect such a big response, or any response really, for a while! Thank you, all of you- I hope you continue to enjoy the fic!

I have to forewarn you all though- my updating might be slightly erratic. I post a chapter once I'm happy with it, and I can only write when inspiration strikes. Hopefully though, there won't be a lull of more than a week :)

Note: I prefer to write dialogue/speech realistically, so it won't always follow the conventions of written English. I also apologize if conversations turn out terribly, I am not experienced in writing them. :/

Also- I believe that James and Lily were very intelligent, so what I am having them achieve is not out of my believed scope of their abilities.

Enough of my rambling, onto the story!

**~...~**

Once all her things were in her new room, Petunia smiled thankfully at Lily.

"Lils, thank you... so, so much. You have no idea how much this means to me- I thought I had destroyed everything..."

Lily hugged her older sister, frowning, "It's okay Toony! But about you having magic... Dumbledore never told me about your magic- maybe we can ask him to check it again, see if you can learn some rudimentary spells? If I had known then, things might've turned out differently, y'know? By the way- you have a suite here, as does everyone. This one is yours, obviously. The door to the left in the hallway is mine and James', and then to the right is Sirius'. Remus lives with everyone else he works with, in his place of work."

Petunia nodded, "Left is you and your man, right is Sirius. Remus lives with colleagues. About my magic... why don't we just go to a doctor? And then maybe get me some robes- I feel like the odd woman out! You look lovely by the way, have I told you?"

Lily smiled at her before saying, "You're right, a Healer would be the better idea- Don't know why I assumed Dumbledore- must've been because he was the one who told you about your magic at first. Hey- Weren't you a nurse as well? If you have enough magic, you might be able to pursue a career as a Healer! You'll be getting robes this weekend, don't worry. Oh, I forgot to tell you- I'm earning a few masteries, to teach at a small wizarding school, and James is after the same ones, so he can teach there as well. Oh Toony, he's grown up so much! Not at all a toerag anymore, though he does still have some maturing to do... But only mentally, if you know what I mean!"

Giggling, Petunia urged Lily to sit down, as apparently there was more to talk about.

"What school are you going to teach in? I thought the only one was Hogwarts?"

Lily seated herself, shaking her head as her giggles faded, "No, Hogwarts is just the largest one. This one is called Vesuvia Academy of Magics. They run more like a muggle school, and I'm going to be teaching courses to first years, as well as offering weekend tutoring to older years. I'm getting a few masteries... all the basic courses, just the ones needed to teach a well rounded course- Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Duelling, History, Herbology, Astronomy and Defense. James is getting the same things, so he can teach the third years. We need to teach them the courses in an integrated manner, until Fifth year, so they only get specialized teachers then."

Petunia gaped, "Aren't masteries supposed to be hard to get, past two? How the hell are you managing so many?"

With a grimace, Lily said, "Yeah. They're a fucking bitch to achieve. Charms, Potions, History, Herbology, and Duelling were pretty easy, I got those in a year, but you know I get those subjects. I just got them, actually! I have some crests on my robes, see? They show me as a master of the subjects. Now I'm getting Transfiguration, History, Astronomy, and Defense... James has been such a help. He got Transfiguration, Defense, Astronomy, and Duelling at the same time I got my first ones, now he's getting Charms, History, Herbology and Potions. We're helping one another understand the material- we should be done by the time we're 23."

Hugging her sister, Petunia felt a stab of pride throughout her body, and laughed.

"You're utterly brilliant Lils, do you know that? Most people your age- hell, even people _my_ age! They can't do what you're doing, and it would be nigh impossible- and you think it's normal- albeit a bit difficult, but you're getting it done! You're going to set a trend- a right inspiration you are, you know that? ...I think if I have magic, I'll go after a mastery in Healing, so I can assist the school nurse. I was a pediatric nurse in the hospital I worked, I want to continue helping out children... So now you need to tell me about these boys you have staying here. What are they doing?"

The women continued talking, as the sun got lower and lower in the sky, about how Sirius was an Auror Trainee, and what that entailed; and how James was too, and trained to be a part-time Auror during the summers, and Remus was now an Unspeakable, but most of all about...

"Petunia don't tell _anyone_ but, well... I think that the reason why Peter couldn't get into the manor was because he might have joined up with the Dark Lord... He won't let us see his left arm, and he always disappears... and one time I saw him actually holding his left forearm in pain! Do you think I'm seeing things? Imagining it?"

With a frown and a shake of her head, Petunia replied, "I think you're right... why doesn't anyone bother to check his arm? There's a truth potion, feed him that- It'll show whether or not he's a Death Eater or not. And it won't be contestable."

Lily nodded and stood up, "I'll mention it to Dumbledore next I see him.. anyways, it's bedtime now! Tomorrow it's time for introductions and then shopping, and then getting your magic checked. Then I need to get back to studying, so you won't see much of me, unfortunately... Gnight, Toony!"

Petunia smiled and followed Lily to the door, "Gnight Lils. Sleep well!"

"You too."

**...**

Petunia was awoken early the next morning by Lily, who was grinning and standing over her.

Groaning and turning over, Petunia covered her head with the pillow.

"It's unholy o' clock in the morning, Lils! Why the hell are you even awake? Go _away_ and let me rest..."

Laughing, Lily pulled her sister upright, "It's 4 in the AM, Toony! There's been a change of schedule- first getting clothes, then getting checked, then meeting everyone. As Mario says, _Let's a-go_! Up-_up_-**up**!"

Rubbing her eyes, Petunia stood up and took the garment that Lily was handing her- it must have belonged to Lily at some point, and now was spelled to fit her instead.

Walking into the bathroom, Petunia yelled out over her shoulder, "Are we at least getting some food before we go out?"

Lily yelled back an affirmative, and once Petunia stepped back out, looked over her critically, before nodding and stuffing some toast into Petunias mouth.

"There. Fooded. Fed. Whatever, c'mon!"

**...**

"So where are we going?"

"First to _Twilfitt and Tatting's_, then flooing to St Mungo's. After we finish there, we're either coming home, or getting you some tutors and then coming home, where introductions will then take place. It'll be fun, I promise. Then you're going to spend your days either learning magic or learning history, while I spend my days studying with James, and telling him what stock to invest in and why, and what land to buy."

Petunia nodded, dazed.

"So... the Potter's are rather well off, I take it?"

Lily smiled gently at her, "Yeah, they're old money, so they aren't wanting for money... But they also have a steady sourse of income, seeing as they also own acromantula farms and dragon reserves- they produce fine grade silk and dragon hide respectively, as well as some potions ingredients. The number in our bank account just keeps growing. The Potters have always been hard workers."

Petunia nodded, and they made their way into the Alley, where Lily pointed out people and places, letting Petunia into vital information.

As they approached the robe shop, Petunia felt more and more nervous, until Lily smiled at her reassuringly, and led her in.

"Ladies," She looked at the fittings assistants who had stood up the second they entered the shop, "I require a _full_ womans wardrobe for my sister here. The same things I needed when I first entered this store, you understand."

They nodded and silently got to work, leading Lily and Petunia to a private room, where they started measuring Petunia and murmuring about fabrics and colors.

When they finally left, Petunia was a bit red, embarrassed from the thorough measuring and questions, and understanding the need for a private room.

"So, those will be...?"

"Your new clothes will be portkeyed to your rooms by tonight, by house elf. It's ok, Tooney- all pureblood women are used to it!"

Petunia nodded slowly, "It was just a bit... new. And thorough..."

Lily laughed and nodded, "It can be embarrassing at first, yeah. But it's ok- they're discreet, I promise. Now, we're going to go to a general Healer here, they're located in the Alley, thankfully."

Petunia nodded again, less apprehensive than she had been on the way to Twilfitt's, and they made their way to the Healers.

Lily led Petunia to the receptionist, and politely asked, "We want to check her magic levels. Where to?"

"Just go into the first left down the right-most hall, and a Healer will be with you shortly to assess her."

Lily turned and led Petunia into the aforementioned room, where they had barely sat down before a Healer walked in, holding a few papers in her hands.

"Lily Potter and... guest?"

Lily nodded and gestured to Petunia.

"Petunia Evans, my sister. We're here for a Pregnancy Reversal potion and a check on her magic levels?"

The Healer set the papers down and pulled out her wand, "We'll get you the potion first, then check your levels, alright?"

Petunia nodded, a bit nervous, "Uhm, ma'am... I was told my magic was too low to learn anything- We're hoping to see if that's still true or not, and if it's changed, what I can learn."

The Healer smiled, "Of course! Call me Leslie. Now, I'm going to send for the potion, and we'll talk about your medical history while we wait, ok?"

With another nod, Leslie set to recording all of Petunias answers, and they finished a few minutes before the potion got to the room.

Leslie gently gave it to Petunia and warned her, "It tastes absolutely disgusting, just so you know."

With a rueful smile, Petunia downed the potion and let out a deep breath.

"Alright, Leslie. Do what you need to do."

Lily interjected, "I'll wait outside, ok? Just send for me if I'm needed."

And with that, she left the two women alone.

Leslie turned back to Petunia, pulling her wand out, "Now, you said you've never been to a magical doctors office before?"

Petunia shook her head, "Never. I was told I didn't have enough magic."

"Utter bollocks, magic isn't needed to go to a Healer... Alright, this might be weird, but I'm just getting the basics- heartrate and all that jazz that doctors get."

It did indeed feel weird, like a cold chill running through her body, and Petunia grimaced.

"Pleasant."

Leslie laughed, "Sorry love. Anyways, everything looks good. Now we'll check your magic and see all about that, ok? Just relax, yeah?"

Petunia grinned at her, "Yeah, I'll try. This is just a bit nerve-wracking- It'll tell me whether I can pursue a career as a Healer or a Historian."

Leslie cast a spell that made Petunia feel warm all over, and looked up from watching the paper that the results were being written on, "You want to be a Healer?"

"Yeah, I want to work with children. I used to be a pediatric nurse, in the muggle world."

Leslie smiled, "We do have an apprenticeship position open if that does work out, and you get the necessary OWL and NEWT levels! I'll tell them to keep it open for a while, just for you, if that's ok?"

Petunia nodded, smiling, "That would be lovely! How comes the scan?"

"Just finished. You... have the normal magical level that would be expected of a woman your age! It shows that your magic went through a growth spurt when you were about 14, which would explain things. It is now going along a normal growth line, and should continue as such."

Petunia felt liked her cheeks might burst as she walked out and told Lily the good news.

After Lily helped Petunia sign the proper forms, the two women set off for some tutors in all the necessary subjects, hoping that Petunia could be brought to speed within the twelve months that Leslie had secured for them.

**...**

"You know," Petunia started as they settled down, "I've always wondered why magical children aren't educated on their magic from the time they're children. You could control your magic at a young age- if they were educated in magic from the time they started learning everything else, wouldn't they be able to... not have to use wands?"

Lily nodded slowly, "That does makes sense. I'll ask Dumbledore when I bring up Peter- he's the Supreme Mugwump, he can probably do something about it. Now, it's almost time for dinner, let's go put on some nice clothes."

Petunia looked at her little sister in confusion, "Why? We're not going out, we're at home..."

Lily shook her head, smiling, "Old families just do it this way. It's odd, but that's how it's done. I guess so that if unannounced company comes over, we all look proper. Now come on- I want us to match. You need to grow out your hair, it's always framed your face so nicely! When it's short, it makes you look rougher than you really are..."

**...**

As the women sat down, the men fell silent, before Siruis leaned over the table.

"M'names Sirius Black. And who might you be, you beautimious lady?"

Petunia blushed as Sirius was smacked by the other black haired man, but replied, "I'm Petunia. And who might you be...?"

The man who had smacked Sirius smiled politely at her.

"I'm James. Pleasure to meet you."

Petunia nodded and smiled, "You're the one that stole my little sisters heart, then... should've heard her go on and on about you. It's a pleasure to meet the man who managed to get her to feel that spectrum of emotions. I thought there were two others in your group, though?

James grinned at her and nodded, "It's great to meet you too! I've arranged lodging for your tutors, you should be up to speed to get your apprenticeship before the twelve months are over, I promise. The rest of our group... Well, Lily told me that you know all about how Peter can't get in, that really sucks... and Remus is rarely over, he lives at his work, it's getting really creepy. He's not the same man he once was."

As dinner and conversation wore on, Petunia smiled more and more, and her face looked less severe, and more sweet.

Sirius wondered if it would be cheesy to get her an actual petunia at the next opportunity, but then decided that cheesy was what he did, so she'd get a surprise tomorrow night.

Grinning into his drink, he watched Petunia closely.

**~...~**

**Thank you for reading this chapter! Review if you wish to, I'd love to know what you all think, even of the smallest details! Ideas? Criticisms? Anything? Thank you regardless, just for reading!**


	3. Training

Once again, thank you to all my new readers! Not going to lie your reviews certainly speed up my posting, I love hearing your thoughts and seeing the appreciation! Don't review just to speed me up, though- I'm still writing this for love of the story! I hope you all enjoy where I take this fanfic :)

By the way- Did y'all like the hints of future events in the last chapter? ;)

On the hair: As a haver of curly hair, let me explain this- many times, with length, curly hair gets weighed down by itself and forms into waves. :)

Onto more moments in time!

**~...~**

The next morning, Lily came and helped Petunia get dressed in the witches robes, smiling understandingly and reassuring her that it got easier after a few tries.

As the two women walked down the halls together to get breakfast, they made a striking image- Long, wavy, red locks and pale skin, and short, curly, black lock... with that pale skin again.

"Lils, not be cruel, but..."

"But what, Petunia?"

"You need to layer your hair. It's in _waves_, Lils! _Waves_!"

"... Only if you grow yours out, too, and get an identical cut."

Sharing a grin, they passed a few more doors in silence, before Petunia broke in, "When are my tutors going to get here?"

Lily grinned, "They arrived late last night- they're roomed in the guest wing of the manor, and you'll meet them at breakfast."

Petunia nodded, and tentatively reached out and held her sisters hand.

Lily squeezed her sisters had reassuringly, and the two fell into idle chatter about pureblood mannerisms once more.

"Oh!"

"Petunia?"

"Lils, you know what we should do?"

"No... not really, no. Please enlighten me, oh wise one."

Petunia grinned at the sarcasm, and bumped shoulders with the younger woman, "I should inquire about the schooling, when you inquire about Peter. That way, it kinda makes more sense."

With a nod, Lily pulled her sister into the dining room.

"Good morning James! Where's Sirius?"

"Morning Lily! And you too, Petunia- Sirius? I dunno, he's probably still sleeping..."

Several people were led in by a house-elf, who then seated them.

They sat down, and nodded to Lily and James, before turning to Petunia.

"Your sister and her husband already know who we are, as they keyed us into the wards. You're Petunia, right?"

"Yes."

The man who first spoke nodded, and replied, "I'm Anton Grevach. I'll be catching you up to a normal seventh year graduate level. Just call me Anton, you're a bit old to call me Professor."

Petunia nodded at the serious man and shook his hand.

"Pleasure, Anton."

The woman who sat next to him then rose and smiled at Petunia.

"I'm Sirrah Heold- I'll be giving you classes on politics and how to act like a pureblood. Proper knowledge and mannerisms are everything in our world. Just call me Sirrah!"

Petunia smiled at Sirrah, and they had a quick hug over the table, "Thank you so much-" "No problem really-"

Lily broke the two up with a smile, and gestured at them to sit down.

The breakfast conversation had faded into creating a schedule (Anton through the work week, Sirrah on the weekends), and everyone went off to their studies feeling pleased.

**...**

Hours later, in the library, Petunia was speeding through first year and taking a break to read up. Anton had told her that her biggest problem would be getting used to using magic, and memorizing all the spells- both muscle memory, which would come with time, and mental memorization, which would come with studying.

Well, she had gotten used to using magic pretty quickly, now her memorization for future use was her only obstacle.

Just as she leaned back to stretch, the library doors were slammed open, and a filthy Sirius ran in.

"Sirius! Hey- I didn't see you at... are you ok? And aren't you supposed to be at work?"

He gave her a roguish grin, and stood up straight, "I'm fine, Petunia! Nah, it's my lunch hour- I skipped out for a bit... Say, do you happen have any nicknames?"

"Toony is usually it..."

Sirius frowned, "Nah, you need something that fits you, beautiful. Anyways-"

With a flourish, he gave Petunia only one petunia.

"I tried to find enough to make a bouquet, but there weren't any... So here's one beautiful petunia for one beautiful Petunia."

Petunia flushed and gave him a brilliant smile, taking the white flower and tucking it into her hair, "They're almost out of season. I'm surprised you found this one- thank you, Sirius."

He smiled at her again, before kissing her hand and walking out the library door, closing it much more gently than he'd opened it.

As he left, Petunias mind raced, but all the conclusions she could land on just made her blush.

Returning to her studies, Petunia made a mental note that she'd have to ask Lily what she thought, later.

**...**

After dinner, Petunia pulled Lily to the library, and asked her what she thought about Sirius's behavior, expecting Lily to be as confused as she had first been.

To her surprise, Lily started laughing, nearly doubled over.

"Um... Lils? Lily? Can you tell me what's so funny?"

Grinning still, Lily managed to collect herself, "I thought you'd know, Toony! He's _flirting_ with you! He may even want to court you..."

Petunia gaped.

"Court... me? Why would he like _me_?"

"C'mon, Toony. We're getting you to a mirror, stat. You're beautiful, silly! _And_ you have a sense of humor... He probably wants to take you on a few dates. Anyways, let's walk to our rooms and discuss this- It's getting late."

As they walked to their rooms, Lily explained pureblood courting rituals to Petunia, who could only shake her head and smile.

"At least I get free dinners and gifts out of it."

"And potentially a new husband, the Blacks are quite well off, you know."

"I don't care about the money! I care about the man- I want to know what Sirius is like, not what his vaults look like."

"I know, Toony. But if you two get married, then you'll help him with the finances, it's simply how things are done with purebloods. James and Sirius aren't very traditional, but in regards to family matters they are- you'll need to learn, but he'll probably teach you, if you accept him."

"I... I think I might. He's not _too_ horrible to look at."

They giggled, and then Petunia murmured, "What if he's having me on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lily... boys used to do this all the time to me. They pretend they like me, then they laugh at me and walk away, right when I get my hopes up... I can't- I don't... Vernon was the first man who really loved me for me, and you saw how that turned out..."

They had stopped walking now, and Lily hugged her sister tightly.

"I promise, Sirius would never do that. He might be a player, and a joker, but he's _never_ cruel, not like that... He's outgrown cruel jokes as well, though none of them were ever- Oh _Tooney_..."

"It's okay," Petunia tried to deflect her sister, trying not to cry, "I promise- I'm just nervous."

"Nervous that he's either going to hurt you, or hurt you! I promise though... He would never. He respects women, and hates people who do that sort of thing. You're safe with him, Petunia. Give him a chance, I promise it's for real. And if it's not, I'll curse him so badly, he'll _wish_ I was a Death Eater."

Smiling weakly, Petunia fell silent, and the two walked until they reached their rooms.

As Lily parted and went into her rooms, Petunia went into hers, and pulled out her books, studying and practicing until the first sign of sunlight.

She needed to get up to speed, and damn it, she would.

No matter what.

**~...~**

**Once again, thank you for reading! I apologize for the shortness of the chapter, but this is where it wants to end...**

**Review if you wish to!**


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